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Just for all to know 3 1/2 years ago I proposed a rate change for Dumont that was approved and forwarded to the DAC (Desert Advisory Group). The proposal was for a $30.00 weekly pass no up charge for holidays and a yearly pass of $120.00 that included holidays and would include a "tear off" part for use in vehicles coming out to join a group etc. Only provision on this was that the vehicle could not have an OHV in it nor be used to go duning. The DAC recommended that Barstow BLM move forward with this, it would simplify accounting for the BLM and their vendors by reducing the pass numbers from 4 to 2. BLM would have to complete a business plan and submit that plan to the RAAC which is required for any fee demo area changing fees. One of the reasons I left the sub-group was the lack of the BLM doing the business plan nor proceeding with any changes that would actually make things easier for all involved. The problem with the management of Dumont in my opinion is that there has been a slow down in visitor's in the last 4 years due to price of fuel and the economy.Therefore BLM see's no reason to change anything because the area's use has declined. I will give you another example of your government at work, we asked and were approved for a grant to buy a road grader that could be used to maintain the road into Dumont much more frequently as it could be pulled and operated from a 1 ton truck. As of a year ago the grader had still not been purchased and in the meeting in Sept. I requested that we fund the purchase of the grader from the fee demo money we had and when the grant was paid the fund would be re-paid. I do not know and highly doubt that Barstow has purchased the equipment, I just could not take the lack of management that the current administration has for the area.I just recently received notice that the BLM was doing a clean up which FoDD had put on for the previous 12 years and when the new manager came in, she made it so difficult to put the event on that we pulled our support. I was informed that FoDD and BLM were doing a "14th annual clean-up. If you go to the clean-up you will see that it is sponsored by friends of El Mirage and BLM. Apparently the BLM is ok with using a non-Dumont group but had a problem talking and working with a Dumont user group. That should tell you right there what the issue is, the management at Barstow BLM needs to hear from the users and voice the concerns about the LEO's and the lack of a day pass and/or the change in the pass situation.She stopped listening to me and Big John as soon as she came on board, so now my friends if you have a complaint it's not that I don't want to hear it but that she needs to hear it from you the users as she will not nor has not responded to the organization that put the clean up and other projects in motion some 14 years ago.

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A couple of years ago "Rocket" and his wife drove from Orange county to attend one of the meetings that Terry speaks of in Barstow. I also attended from Las Vegas riding over with Terry.

Bob, may he rest in peace, was a retired police Lt. in the City of Orange. He went to Dumont regularly and did for many years. He looked forward to being helpful and making some suggestions at the meeting as the issue of enforcement had already come up.

As he was recognized by the manager chairing the meeting, he prepared to make some suggestions based on his many years in Law Enforcement. Both to help BLM and it's policies and his fellow duners.

He was seriously baffled that he got literally cut off and was not able to present what he had spent many hours putting his questions and suggestions together, in a format that would be polite and possibly helpful.

The prior manager would at least listen to suggestions even if they could not be done. Bob left very upset and confused that he wasn't allowed to share his thoughts.

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I'll throw my 2 cents in...As long as we've been going to D, I can't say we've had quite the experience as the OP in this thread. There may be more to the story that is going untold. I believe that if you follow the rules & regulations at Dumont, and give any LEO no reason to make contact with you, then you should be fine. There was one time when a LEO was slow rolling by camp, saw us drinking out of glass bottles (and all the empty bottles on the ground) and had us clean up our mess and gave us a friendly warning, and told us to have a nice day. Other then that, I don't give them a reason to make contact with me.

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So visitor numbers are down, then why is there an "army" of Leo's out there? My point exactly, the number of Leo's go up, the visitors goes down, no cuts in staffing, keep em on the payroll, and the chance of interactions goes up.

I love this "I don't give them a reason to hassle me" the "officers are all cool" yea, cause you know them and kiss all their a&#036;&#036;'s. Run into one on a bad day and for no reason and your tude will change. "Well we need them" for what? "If you ever get hurt you'll need them" not likely, I spent 5 days in the hospital in 2010 over thanksgiving, no Leo in sight, which 9 times outta 10 is how it goes down.

Obviously, this crowd on here is of the impression we all need some govt involved in our business.

You guys have been crying over the small details and brought the spotlight on it now, that's what happened.

Road, this is the middle of the dam desert, if you need a road to get in there, maybe you should go camp in a KOA campground, or is that what's next? Let's grade out the flats and pave it, and put assigned spaces, and make reservations, with fire rings. Ridiculous, a road grader, no wonder the Blm hates this place, "well now they want a grader, so I guess we have to secure it, maintain it, insure it, hire someone to be in charge of it" what's next, bar ditches and streetlights down the thing?

There shouldn't even be a fee, but I guess if you keep stirring em up, they have do do something right? What does the fee do? Nadda, there should be no bathrooms, no complex, no stupid road maintenance, no nothin.

The only thing dumont needs is the Blm to leave it alone, and on their way out , get a 10x10 piece of 1/4" plate steel, torch out the words "0ffroading is extremely dangerous, use at your own risk. Failure to due so can cause serious injury or death", paint the thing white, sink two huge poles in the ground and weld it too it. Done

Oh maybe another one, "This road is not maintained" or "hang up your purse and bomb your rig out there if that's where you want to camp"

The people who use dumont will keep care of it, they will pick up the trash, they will handle business out there if somebody get out of hand or hurt.

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Don't have a gun (or at least in plain sight), don't gamble for money out in the open, and don't have drugs. Maybe I missed something, but this seems like you get yourself harassed vs the LEO's being the problem. I like the others above have never been harassed in Dumont and I have been going for a long time. We had one stop in our camp twice this weekend and he was very nice and very informative, we did not know him, but glad to have talked to him. I think you should visit Glamis if you think the LEO's in Dumont are bad.

I don't think one person said anything about needing government involved, but it is nice to have the emergency services our there, to help get people to the hospital by ambulance or airlift.

I also don't think you have clue one on the road situation, do you realize that if they don't maintain that road and keep the dust partially down, that the tree huggers try and come in to shut it down, talking about the dust that is getting on the plants due to everyone driving down that road?

Evolution, the machines have become for more powerful than the days of old, people are more aggressive and pushing these machines to the limit, potentially contributing to more injuries. Because of this, it is nice to have the LEO's out there to help and no they cannot be everywhere, they are on a limited budget for the Sheriffs office, about 65k a year to operate out there. I don't always agree with everything that they do out there or how every LEO acts, but I think for the most part, they are a pretty good group. I remember a few years back, a couple LEO's tried to go have fun with the duners, bringing two of the dirt bikes to the hill and racing. What do you think that got them, nothing but grief, funny people like you want to complain about them, then when the relax and have fun with the duners people b*tch then too.

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Mineurbiz, thanks for saying what needed to be said. The fee demo program has been beaten to death. Washington DC imposed it, we fought it we lost. Now if you want something for your money except access you have to go through BLM for it and that's another stone wall. Blown72, I gave you examples of some of the issues that face Dumont but the vast majority of duners at Dumont agree that the LEO's out there are much better than at Glamis and that although the road grader is not something "you think we need" there are many of us on here that went down that road 40 years ago leaving pieces of motorhomes and vehicles to get to the flats. With all the high dollar equipment that comes in there a smooth road is not to much to ask for. Just because I dune does not mean that I like my sh*t beat up before I get there. Blown72 i think you are just pissed you got caught with sh*t at the dunes where you thought you could go do what ever you wanted and found out you can't. Sorry but it is the way life works. I have tried to be a steward of the area for a long time and this Barstow BLM manager drove me away fronm it. It's to bad the last one got promoted as she was a true representative of what a Federal Employee should be. You guys are stuck with what you have till the US Government raises her to the top of the "Peter Principle

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No problem Terry, at first I thought I was going to hear this story about something legit, then to find out that he had a gun out, drugs and gambling and still wanted to blame the LEO's, I could not believe that he was actually upset about getting harassed. I guess he would blame a cop if he got pulled over for speeding also.

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Mineurbiz...."I remember a few years back, a couple LEO's tried to go have fun with the duners, bringing two of the dirt bikes to the hill and racing. What do you think that got them, nothing but grief, funny people like you want to complain about them, then when the relax and have fun with the duners people b*tch then too."........ya, I got a write up for that one!!! Lol

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Mineurbiz...."I remember a few years back, a couple LEO's tried to go have fun with the duners, bringing two of the dirt bikes to the hill and racing. What do you think that got them, nothing but grief, funny people like you want to complain about them, then when the relax and have fun with the duners people b*tch then too."........ya, I got a write up for that one!!! Lol

That sucks, I thought it was a great show of how human you guys are. Keep up the good work and don't let the bad apples make you like the Glamis guys.

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I showed up Friday. When I pulled in I was stopped for my trailer plate that I keep in the trailer due to theft issues. Once I explained this to the ranger. He was ok. What bubbled me though is that he threatened me with a drug K9 asking if I had anything he should know about in front of my 10 year old. I have a clean record and am an upstanding citizen. He didn't have to go that route. Especially with no probable cause. I was disappointed with his approach with me over a simple plate. All in all he left his dog in the cruiser and let me go. Seems like he was just fishing. Did the same to another friend of mine. Could have been worse so I will say I'd rather deal with that and have them there to get rid of the problems so we keep our dunes.

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No tag could mean you dont want people to be able to get your plate and turn you in because you are out there being sketchy. I know you are a diehard duner and not implying in any way you are up to no good, but it is a reason for a LEO to be suspicious.Props to you for your good attitude about it though !

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No Probable Cause?????? The Officer should have given you a ticket! With all the stolden trailers and toys, you see on this site almost every month someone gets their trailer stolen, no plate on the trailer what do you think the office should do? Think your an outstanding citizen with the plate inside the trailer? Or some low life that just stole some ones trailer and has a record a mile long , drugs, guns and no respect for life or the 10 year old. The officer approached you with the mind set of what is this guy trying to hide and am I going to have to arrest him. He also probably had the strap on is 45 unstraped. So just put the plate on the trailer and it all could have been avoided

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Since I'm back now I guess I should get into this conservation again. I went to Dumont Halloween weekend nd didn't understand something. There were two or three rangers or sheriffs sitting out at Comp Hill most of the weekend. I was confused why they didn't really patrol the flats where everyone is camping and Trophy Trucks, big and little rails, quads and sXs's were constantly racing all over the place and in fact did it right next to where we were camping close to B/R 4.

On another point a while back I e--mailed the BLM Manager and asked if they were ever going to consider a host at Dumont. No response to my e-mail. I guess they are just to busy to reply to a simple e-mail question.

Your government employees at work. And now they are paying an outside contractor to clean the bathrooms. Didn't Don and Ellen do that as part of their Host duties for a very little part of their puny pay???

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Since I'm back now I guess I should get into this conservation again. I went to Dumont Halloween weekend nd didn't understand something. There were two or three rangers or sheriffs sitting out at Comp Hill most of the weekend. I was confused why they didn't really patrol the flats where everyone is camping and Trophy Trucks, big and little rails, quads and sXs's were constantly racing all over the place and in fact did it right next to where we were camping close to B/R 4.

On another point a while back I e--mailed the BLM Manager and asked if they were ever going to consider a host at Dumont. No response to my e-mail. I guess they are just to busy to reply to a simple e-mail question.

Your government employees at work. And now they are paying an outside contractor to clean the bathrooms. Didn't Don and Ellen do that as part of their Host duties for a very little part of their puny pay???

Pat, yes Don and Ellen did clean the bathrooms as part of their pay and employment with the BLM. They have not been able to find anyone to do the host position so an outside contract was done. I see nothing wrong with that. Remember Don and Ellen were receiving about $800.00 each per month, living rent free and had their water and fuel supplied to them. They were warned about being BLM employees and accepting gratuities and after three written warnings it still didn't sink in so they were let go. Plain fact, they were an asset to the dunes but if your going to be employed by the federal government than you play by their rules.

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So let me address the replies to my post as to clarify any speculation in regards to validatity and the nature of "starting crap".

First off, I didn't wait to post this, it's that time of year for a pres day trip and I was pondering the upcoming weekend and thought maybe I'd share my feelings, obviously not welcome.

Second, I assume now that to post anything that goes on in dumont, it needs to be about rainbows and unicorns because all that ever happens out there is warm fuzzy stuff right? Starting anything is the last of my intentions, let me be real clear on that, provoking a reaction by sharing my thoughts is not my intent.

As to the incidents that I have been personally involved in (2 to be exact) I was hoping on not having to devulge the details, due to possible blow back from any law enforcement on this site but, it's only fair to anyone interested, they get a little back story.

On a trip with group of friends in December, two days before xmas, the weather was horrible, it was six of us, all guys, all dirt bikes, going riding for two days for a friends b-day, my motor home, my toy box, 3 4 wheel drive trucks. All registered, insured, the whole bit.

3 of us staying the night, the rest going home. Christmas time, a quick rip and back home to the fam before the holiday.

Mid afternoon, I noticed a Blm pickup cruising, no biggie, our usual no riding option, clear out the trailer, play some poker and settle in to some cocktails and a night by the fire, after 20 or 30 min after sighting Blm, I'm back in the trailer taking people's money and at the door, comes Mr Blm, to spare the details and going on forever, after the hour long shakedown, involving potential arrests for gambling, a confiscation of a registered 9mm(visible on a workbench nothing in the chamber), possible dui arrest for "keys in the ignition" of a parked motor home and a probable cause to search due to a thumb size piece of weed on the workbench, and multiple threats and accusations, this ordeal ended.

For law enforcement to walk into a doorway of a trailer for no reason whatsoever is crazy to me, I won't even get within 50ft of anyone's camp, let alone walk into one.

The details to this incident are endless, believe me, it was a nightmare, I haven't even had a traffic ticket in 15 yrs, let alone presumed "under arrest".

The reason I even shared this was to maybe open people's eyes to the fact that in the last couple of years out there, it's turned into a shakedown street, even if you're in your own camp.

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Pat, yes Don and Ellen did clean the bathrooms as part of their pay and employment with the BLM. They have not been able to find anyone to do the host position so an outside contract was done. I see nothing wrong with that. Remember Don and Ellen were receiving about $800.00 each per month, living rent free and had their water and fuel supplied to them. They were warned about being BLM employees and accepting gratuities and after three written warnings it still didn't sink in so they were let go. Plain fact, they were an asset to the dunes but if your going to be employed by the federal government than you play by their rules.

Terry, my email was in reference to being the host at Dumont. I asked them if they were considering ever having a host again and if so I was interested. Ironic....right?

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Lol! Yes it was ironic. I am sure they would be open to that position being filled but may now be an issue with the bathroom contract being filled. However them not replying is typical and one of the many reasons I left the sub-group.

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Dumont Dune Riders is your community & information source for anything Dumont Dunes! We are a community driven site for the people of Dumont just like you. If you have a cool story to tell or just want to share a picture of your ride, post it up! If you have a technical question or need some help with something, post it up! Where are all here to help each other out. Thanks for being part of the DDR community.